Woodlands Golf Club (19)

Despite still being a bit under the weather I ventured out to Woodlands Golf Club for another SGA Tour Victoria competition.  Woodlands was rated at 19 in the 2012 Golf Digest Top 100, and I note they have held and improved that by one in the 2014 rankings.

The weather was overcast and a Westerly breeze meant the temperature stayed low for a March day in Melbourne.  Woodlands is another great Melbourne sandbelt course, with a number of shorter par 4's but these and the par 3's all well protected by either bunkers or tricky swales around the greens that make getting up and down a test.

Par 4 1st tee

 

Par 4 1st hole

The first a dog leg left par 4 only needs an iron or 3 wood off the tee, but depending on the line taken will leave a short to medium iron in to green bunkered on the left.  Started off hitting the fairways but irons to the greens kept staying left and I encountered bunkers on opening few holes.

3rd hole looking back from green

3rd green

The greens were firm and fast and a pleasure to putt on.

Par 4 4th hole

Another short par 4 4th hole is all about placing tee shot so the approach can hit the green as the green is small and difficult to get up and down if you miss.

Par 3 5th hole

The first of the short holes, the par 3 5th is a typical sandbelt par 3 with bunkers surrounding the green demanding accuracy from the tee.

Par 4 14th hole

The course is set amongst beautiful tree lined fairways that punish the errant shot as I quickly discovered today.  Not enough fairways hit and even when I did, the over the top swing was seeing balls stay left today with less slice.

Mandalay Golf Course

The Mandalay Golf Course at Beveridge is a Peter Thomson designed course set in a new housing estate about 50 minute drive north of Melbourne.

Clubhouse under construction

Practice nets - that's it for warm up

The clubhouse is still under construction and at the moment only the 3 practice nets are in place (March 2015).

Another SGA Tour Victoria round for a early morning shotgun start.  Our group was on the first hole, a short par 4 to get the round underway.

The Mandalay fairways are in very good condition, the rough is not as long as the first time we played and the conditions were perfect for scoring.

Par 4 8th hole

Par 4 9th hole

Ninth green from path behind

Managed to have 21 points on the front nine including a wipe on the 7th when I didn't get out of a greenside bunker.

Par 3 11th hole

Generous fairways but greens well protected by bunkers, the course also usually has the regular breeze to help protect it but today was very still.

Par 4 12th hole



A steady start to the second nine before a couple of pars at the par 5 16th and 17th gave me 19 points for the nine and 40 overall.

Par 5 16th

Although not included in the 2012 Golf Digest rankings as it was not open, Mandalay has been listed at 56 in the Golf Course Guide Top 100 courses.

Par 5 17th

Spring Valley Golf Club (55)

An invitation to a corporate golf day at Spring Valley Golf Club had us venturing again to another Melbourne sandbelt course for an ambrose event.

The event was the Parkview Masters sponsored by the Melbourne Parkview Hotel and grey skies greeted us, as did a light lunch before teeing of in a shotgun start.  Our group started on the par 4 11th hole.

Par 4 11th hole

Ambrose is always a fun format for a change, and we also had the requirement to use each players tee shot 3 times, but we accommodated 3 of our group early on, and so were not under pressure in that regard. 

Par 4 13th tee

Par 4 13th tee, with 12th green at right

We made a fairly steady start reeling off relatively straight forward pars without having too many birdie chances.  A couple of bogies meant that we started the front nine two over.

Par 3 Third hole

Par 3 third

The short holes are a stand out to me at Spring Valley with all requiring accurate shots to hit and hold the greens which were playing quite fast.

A couple of long birdie putts being made gave us a 2 under front nine to finish even par, which considering our handicaps (lowest 18) was not too bad, but not enough to get in the prizes on the day.

A fantastic BBQ dinner followed golf and overall a great day on a fantastic course in excellent condition.  Thanks to all involved.

18th green

Eynesbury Pro-Am (83)

A beautiful summer day in Melbourne welcomed the 2015 Eynesbury Pro-Am albeit with some early morning showers threatening.

Carts ready to go

With a 7:30am shotgun start it made for a early drive and arrival before dawn.  The carts were ready to go as were the bacon and egg rolls.  Who needs a practice range!

Café and breakfast

I had played in the 2011 event and managed to get a place again in the morning field.  My amateur partner and I had two pros with us Brendan Smith and James Hartley.  Starting on the 9th hole of the Graham Marsh designed Eynesbury course we were off the blue tees.

Par 4 13th tee

Par 4 13th hole

The threatening clouds soon passed with only a few spots of rain and the by the end of the day it was reasonable warm.  Unfortunately James had to retire after injuring his wrist playing from the rough next to the hazard on the 18th hole.  James tried to play the 1st but was unable to grip the club properly.  So we proceeded to complete the second nine as a

17th tee

17th hole

 The course was in superb condition with the greens firm and reasonably quick.  Brenden shot a 68 on the day to tie for 5th in the pro event.

Typical approach over a hazard

The course has a number of water hazards including creeks that cut across fairways requiring careful layups or carries over the hazards.